These two special elections validate a national polling pattern that is bad news for Republicans. According to a New York Times/CBS Poll, Americans disapprove of the President's job performance by 63 to 28 (and he has been below 40% job approval since December 2006, the longest such period for any president in the history of polling).

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Congressional Republicans Can't Take Comfort in McCain's Poll Numbers
Senator McCain is currently running ahead of the Republican congressional ballot by about 16 percentage points. But there are two reasons that this extraordinary personal achievement should not comfort congressional Republicans.

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The Anti-Obama, Anti-Wright, and Anti-Clinton GOP Model Has Been Tested -- And It Failed
The Republican brand has been so badly damaged that if Republicans try to run an anti-Obama, anti- Reverend Wright, or (if Senator Clinton wins), anti-Clinton campaign, they are simply going to fail.

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Republicans Have Lost the Advantage on Every Single-Issue Poll
A February Washington Post poll shows that Republicans have lost the advantage to the Democrats on which party can handle an issue better -- on every single topic.

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There's more but I already broke the forum rules ... seeing how it's a thread bashing the GOP I'm hoping Patters will enjoy it and look the other way on rule breakage here ...

Here are nine acts of real change that would begin to rebuild the American people's confidence that Republicans share their values, understand their worries, and are prepared to act instead of just talk. The Republicans in Congress could get a start on all nine this week if they had the will to do so

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1 - Repeal the gas tax for the summer, and pay for the repeal by cutting domestic discretionary spending .

2 - Redirect the oil being put into the national petroleum reserve onto the open market.

3 - Introduce a "more energy at lower cost with less environmental damage and greater national security bill" as a replacement for the Warner-Lieberman "tax and trade" bill

4 - Establish an earmark moratorium for one year and pledge to uphold the presidential veto of bills with earmarks through the end of 2009

That is pretty hard core stuff coming from a well known high level republican.

Unfortunately those that are running the party today and advising McCain will not adhere to that kind of a campaign. This administration has set the table in the past for the slimiest of the slime and they won't stop because the end game, the control and power of the Oil and the middle east is their one and only agenda.

They can not afford to see their work for the past seven plus years be wasted before their goal is complete.

Unfortunately for them I believe the string has run out and the end is near.

1 - Repeal the gas tax for the summer, and pay for the repeal by cutting domestic discretionary spending .Why not just cut discretionary spending because we are broke?

2 - Redirect the oil being put into the national petroleum reserve onto the open market.Band-aid approach ... typical since the 70's

3 - Introduce a "more energy at lower cost with less environmental damage and greater national security bill" as a replacement for the Warner-Lieberman "tax and trade" billI'll have to read this before commenting.

4 - Establish an earmark moratorium for one year and pledge to uphold the presidential veto of bills with earmarks through the end of 2009More crapola to pile on past crapola.

5 - Overhaul the census and cut its budget radically.Yeah ...good move ... the poor won't show up anymore...what a dope.

6 - Implement a space-based, GPS-style air traffic control system. Would it have helped on 9/11?

7 - Declare English the official language of government.Gee Newt ... such grounbreaking life changing measures ... :bricks:

8 - Protect the workers' right to a secret ballot.Wow ... one I actually like.

9 - Remind Americans that judges matter.Americans already know this but we don't vote for judgesand the hearings are a charade.

does number 7 mean that there is government business conducted in other languages? If not, then what is the point? Other than to alienate a fairly large block of hispanic voters it seems hateful and totally unnecessary.

does number 7 mean that there is government business conducted in other languages? If not, then what is the point? Other than to alienate a fairly large block of hispanic voters it seems hateful and totally unnecessary.

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Isn't there? Ballots are printed in many different languages, social security, welfare...etc.

Isn't there? Ballots are printed in many different languages, social security, welfare...etc.

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Ballots? as in names are in different languages? I really don't get the point of that. It's not going to encourage anyone to learn english any quicker it's just going to make life more difficult and offend a large portion of the population. Not to mention that making it the "official language" doesn't necessarily mean that forms won't be available in other languages (if they are I don't even know) does it?

Gingrich is brain dead appearing with pelosi on the MMGW nonsense, but his criticiasms of the pubbies are spot on, if they had behaved like conservatives rather than dem-lite they wouldn't have lost the house and senate.

Ballots? as in names are in different languages? I really don't get the point of that. It's not going to encourage anyone to learn english any quicker it's just going to make life more difficult and offend a large portion of the population. Not to mention that making it the "official language" doesn't necessarily mean that forms won't be available in other languages (if they are I don't even know) does it?

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From the az central. There's also one from findlaw about california ballots.

Billy House
Republic Washington Bureau
May. 11, 2006 12:00 AM

WASHINGTON - A key House panel on Wednesday voted to continue requiring bilingual ballots and translation assistance for voters in 31 states, including help for Native Americans and Hispanics in Arizona who are not fluent in English.

The House Judiciary Committee rejected efforts to cut the language-assistance provision from a bill to renew the 1965 Voting Rights Act, set to expire next year.

The action also signaled that, with legislation still pending to curb illegal immigration and beef up border security, there is little appetite among House Republican leaders to further upset Hispanic voters in an election year.

From the az central. There's also one from findlaw about california ballots.

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Without delving into a constitutional argument about whether Hispanic citizens who are born here should be required to learn english in order to vote, are there Native Americans that don't speak english? If so can you give me a good reason why they should have to learn any language other than their own?

More proof that there is no real difference between the two parties...they are one happy bunch of Republicrats. Anyone else need more proof? Gingrich is out on the fringe and no one is listening. 25 years ago, he would have been mainstream Republican.

Without delving into a constitutional argument about whether Hispanic citizens who are born here should be required to learn english in order to vote, are there Native Americans that don't speak english? If so can you give me a good reason why they should have to learn any language other than their own?

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I didn't say anything one way or another, did I? I just remember hearing that in some places they had to have lots of different ballots.

This is one of those issues I really could care less about. I'm sure it's important and all that, but...

Without delving into a constitutional argument about whether Hispanic citizens who are born here should be required to learn english in order to vote, are there Native Americans that don't speak english? If so can you give me a good reason why they should have to learn any language other than their own?

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Because English is the common language and if you want to be able to participate fully you need to know the language.

Maybe. I do think we need one language, but I'm not a nut about it. When everyone else's ancestors came here they had to learn English and usually did, but now people either don't want to or are almost being forced not to by well meaning people who make excuses for them. I think if immigrants learned English they'd be better off. There'd be fewer people taking advantage of them if they could get a better grasp of the society.

There are a lot of people who live in "fly over country" who're pretty annoyed about everyone bending over backwards for immigrants, so it might work. But Newt's pretty sharp.

Maybe. I do think we need one language, but I'm not a nut about it. When everyone else's ancestors came here they had to learn English and usually did, but now people either don't want to or are almost being forced not to by well meaning people who make excuses for them. I think if immigrants learned English they'd be better off. There'd be fewer people taking advantage of them if they could get a better grasp of the society.

There are a lot of people who live in "fly over country" who're pretty annoyed about everyone bending over backwards for immigrants, so it might work. But Newt's pretty sharp.

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I think those people are voting Republican anyway. And I highly doubt that anyone has been "forced" not to learn english. In fact I think it's a total myth that the hispanic learning curve for english is different than the Europeans in the "good old days."